Jay Lagare

We stayed at the Discovery Country Suites in Tagaytay for the wedding. We decided on the hotel because it is very near Moon Garden, the reception venue.

The hotel has that nice and homey feel, especially if you have a posh and luxurious home. There are only a few rooms so you won’t encounter too much hustle and bustle. Each of the rooms had distinct design inspired by specific cultures, e.g. American, French, Japanese, Thai. Some of the rooms have a magnificent view of Taal or open to a nice garden that has.

The rooms were a bit expensive at P6.5k for the two rooms we got, Nara and Siam. There are less expensive rooms at P5.5k but we opted for the two because they are at the lower ground floor (less disturbance to the other guests) and between the rooms is a pretty big family area opening out to the garden (more room for family and relatives).

The staff was nice, friend, and were very accommodating. Upon request, they fixed up Nara for the photo shoot, then again after the wedding (although I was expecting them to have already done it while we were away). They even waived the additional charge for additional guests when some of my family decided to stay overnight at Siam. They even added more cookies when they served their complimentary milk and cookie night snacks.

Getting There: Getting there is a quite easy. From Metro Manila, you need to go through SLEX, exit towards Sta. Rosa, just follow the road till you reach the Tagaytay ridge road, turn right and watch out for Country Suites on your left.

Rooms: The rooms were great. Each has a theme, such as  Japanese for the Nara room and Thai for the Siam room. The rooms were spacious and well designed. Room rates are P5.5k, P6.5k, and P9.5k for the best room (Oxford). All rooms come with hot water, air conditioning, and wide-screen LCD TVs with cable. WiFi is available and but is not too strong in the rooms where we stayed.

Food and Beverage: The room is inclusive of breakfast for two. Food at Verbena, the in-house restaurant, is about P300 to P500 per order and drinks at less than P200 per drink. But you can always go out and the many Tagaytay restaurants along and near the ridge road.

Facilities: They have a jacuzzi, a garden, a library of books and DVDs.

Rating: 4/5

Just came back from a rather short honeymoon at Acuatico Beach Resort in Laiya, San Juan, Batangas. The resort wasn’t bad. The problem is we ended up with a room that was so cramped! I wasn’t able to snap a photo but the bathroom was like just the shower here, the bowl beside it, and then the washbasin beside it. The bedroom was similarly cramped. We stayed the night because we got there late already and we had no more time to look for alternate resorts.

But everything else was good. They got a really awesome infinity pool with a bar in the middle, good facilities, beach, and food. The resident manager and the staff were also nice and friendly. I didn’t see the other room-type but, even though expensive, it just might have ended up to be  better experience and worth it.

Getting There: Getting there is a long process (a detailed map is available here). From Metro Manila, you need to go through the full length of SLEX, exit towards Batangas, take the Star Tollway, exit towards Lipa, then to either Padre Garcia or Rosario, then to San Juan, and finally to Laiya and a long stretch of resorts accessible via a mixed gravel and concrete road. Cars can navigate the road but you’ll need to moderate your speed. Total travel time is around 3 to 4 hours.

Rooms: Room rates are P5.5k for the cramped room, and P7.5k for the bigger room. All rooms with hot water, air conditioning, and wide-screen LCD TVs with cable. WiFi is available and the signal is very strong in the room.

Food and Beverage: The room is inclusive of breakfast for two. Your choice American or Filipino breakfast. Food at the in-house restaurant is about P100 to P300 per and drinks at less than P100 per.

Facilities: They have an awesome infinity pool, a good beach,  kayaks (that you can row to nowhere really), and they can arrange for jet skis and snorkeling trips.

Rating: 3/5